It is a quiet day in mostly reconstructed Cerealia. The robots are busily running into walls that were not there before, the Cybuddy bees are buzzing...and CERES has still not said a word. Attempting to contact them still gets the User Offline error. Strange...
But who cares if CERES is offline? After all, they are the cruel and tyrannical captors. A Cerealia without them must be better than a Cerealia with them. So there's nothing to worry about on this fine, peaceful day. Or, at least, that's what it seems like, when suddenly there's a voice in everyone's head. A chosen few may recognize the voice, for they will have heard it before, but to the vast majority, it is brand new.
Looks like someone has been saved, and a reward granted... and no, you don't have a single choice in the matter.
 Your heroism will be remembered, lost and stolen souls.
You have saved me, and so now, I shall save you.
All of you.
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PHASE I [ day one ] It happens so quickly. One moment you’re in the colony, going about your daily life, and the next, you’re… floating. A moment later, every player character from the colony is transported with a wisp of fresh air to...somewhere very very different. The distance is far, but it is covered in what must have only been a scant moment, and it’s clear somehow, especially to air characters, that it was Caeli’s doing that brought everyone there.
There, naturally, being right in the middle of the jungle.
Everyone is then unceremoniously dropped. You may land on a tree, or in a patch of poison mushrooms (no really, look out for the colorful plant life, it’s probably poisonous) or in the river. There are some strange insects of all sorts and types, some of which have some uncomfortable side effects if you’re bitten, such as swelling or the uncomfortable urge to go hug the nearest person, and there are strange flowers everywhere, some of which glow only in the dark of night or the shade of trees. It is dreadfully humid, however, and a little hard to breathe--unless you’re of the air disposition.
Either way, you’ve certainly landed somewhere fantastical, so take some time to get used to your surroundings. It shouldn’t take too long to find everyone else, hopefully.
PHASE II [ day two ] Of course, this far into the jungle, and making this much noise, it was only inevitable before some company was attracted.
Some are clearly dangerous, some are peaceful as can be and some are somewhere in between; approach at your own risk.
Either way, these monsters are all drawn to larger groups of people and a lot of noise, so it may be best to keep quiet...though the ones that keep their distance may be even more concerning.
Everyone is certainly being stalked at one point or another in the jungle -- and at night, there are eyes watching from the darker parts of the trees.
PHASE III [ day three ] But perhaps if you follow some of those monsters deeper into the woods, you will stumble across an old, run down village of sorts. It looks as though time and the jungle has overtaken it. Exploring it will reveal plenty of homes that were clearly lived in however, by families and by people of all sorts.
There are empty rooms, covered in dust, and a central village fire, long gone out.
Small knick-knacks and various objects can be found… if you want to steal from the dead, you know. It’s a little rude. It appears they led a simple, peaceful life, however; most notably, there is no technology to be found.
And if The Bridge catches you doing it, she will look incredibly sad and ask you to put everything back in its proper place before she goes back to looking very irritated at Caeli. You may overhear words about how this “isn’t the right place” and Caeli’s unrepentant, “It is only a few hundred miles”. Looks like something went a little wrong in the transportation process.
Time to camp out for the night, perhaps. And your CereVices don’t get any reception out here, so no surfing the internet for you. If you try to connect to the internet, for some reason the device starts playing a song. Was that programmed…?
PHASE IV [ day four ] By the fourth day, it’s pretty clear that you’re going to be stuck here for a bit. Pestering Caeli or Maris gets nothing, while the Bridge still can’t be approached for pretty good reasons. So… you’ll just have to make the best of it while they figure out their next approach.
Time to figure out how to camp with few supplies and even fewer nice places to sleep. Maybe try to make a fire (though it’s incredibly difficult, considering how muggy it is here) or try to find some bugs to eat (ew gross).
Of course, you can try hunting, but the prey doesn’t look too friendly, so be careful not to become the prey yourself. The same goes for fishing, it seems.
Some of the trees are poisonous, some of the grasses will cause unfortunate rashes, and some vines will lash out to grab at people (especially colorful ones); basically, this is an entirely untamed alien jungle, so it may not be the fun camping trip you'd like.
Time to work together to survive out here, at least for a little longer.
It’s your time to shine. This is Person Versus Wild.
PHASE V [ day six ] On day six, the jungle goes utterly silent.
The monsters and animals disappear. The extra friends poof away hastily and suddenly. Maris and the Bridge fall silent (though Caeli admittedly continues floating there as ever). If anyone approaches them to ask, they'll just say that "she is coming".
And soon, she does appear. She moves slowly, lacking in feet; they are roots, as though that of a tree. Nonetheless, she has no troubles with moving forward, slow bit by bit. She does not speak, not at first, and behind her, trotting lightly through the woods, there is another. Both feel strongly of spiritual energy, just like Maris and Caeli. And eventually, after observing the people gathered, they can be spoken to.
BONUS [ day ??? ] After spending some time in the jungle, emotions might be running a bit amuck. And those emotions might bring some unexpected...friends. Yes, let's go with friends.
Because if a character is typically grumpy, gloomy, stoic, lineface, or anything along those lines, they may find themselves followed by a bright, happy bird. That bird feeds off of those emotions, and will just cheerfully follow around any lineface character for as long as possible. Or until they smile. The birds are otherwise harmless, chirping happily every now and then and following them around like a friendly shadow.
Happy, cheerful, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, energetic characters, on the other hand, will soon find themselves followed by... a different friend. Or maybe a handful of them. It depends on how cheerful they are. Either way, these creatures feed off of happiness and fun, but they will also chew on hair or an ear if they're allowed to get that close, making horrifying, chittering noises as they follow anyone who is in a good mood.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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Kousetsu Samonji | ota of course
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He nods. Yes, he'd like to look for Haru. He wouldn't doubt that the other swords will protect him. But seeing his master in person would bring him relief.
Sayo looks at the creature, before he slowly reach out and gently pet its snout. His eyes widen in awe when it didn't run away from him.]
It's not running away...
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...yes that is because it knows you mean it no harm. There is nothing to run from, so it will not do so.
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Yes... I wouldn't harm it because it's not hurting you.
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...I will not let it come to that. I...do not wish for you to fight here. It is...not necessary. [ And Kousetsu will protect the both of them, that much he's sure about. ]
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continuing on!
Yeah... Maybe there were people here in this world before, and they were nice to these guys. Or maybe, they know we're different from humans?
[ It's not like there's a history text for reference. There's another animal who wants Imano's attention, nudging him on the shoulder. Oh, and another. Hey he's only got two hands here, that tickles! Oh boy, if there's something Kousetsu might need to worry about... ]
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...that is possible. There are spirits, similar to us, we have spoken before in the past. The one of water and air...they were both here some time ago.
[ Ah. Kousetsu sees that and comes in to help. He'll distract the attention of at least one of them other animals, offering it some food to nibble on as he pets it. ]
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[ Elemental spirits, huh? That's a bit different from them even, who are steel with a bit of 100-year sentience mixed in. Shouldn't matter too much...
Also, thank you Kousetsu. Best tachi right here, he's actually pleasant and useful.
compared to some who are pleasant and kinda useless]no subject
[ That's the impression he got from Maris at least. ]
Vietnam
I have merely tried the basic foods horses and other animals would eat. I...do not know if it is carnivorous or not.
[ But it's fairly equine looking, so he hadn't figured to try meat. ]
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...I am unfamiliar with this terrain. So I will follow you, Vietnam-san.
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Alright. I will use whatever knowledge I have of jungles to assist. We avoid mushrooms.
Taroutachi
Success?! ]
It is...not hard. As long as you remain in view and do not have any sudden movements. I think it will...be alright.
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He listens to Kousetsu's words and nods slowly. Perhaps even slower, he attempts to take a seat. ]
It seems to be working.
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Yes. It is...getting used to you. As are others. [ And he'll motion around to show that several other creatures have crept out of the dense undergrowth towards them. ]
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It never seemed so easy before. Thank you for showing me what to do.
[ Maybe it's because Haru is tiny and can't really explain how to make the horses less spooked. Maybe Kousetsu just really is calming enough for the two of them. Either way, it's a nice break from searching aimlessly or fending off suspicious monsters trying to eat him. ]
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Riku
Perhaps it was...Ceres that has forced them out of their homes.
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[only a few weeks here and riku already is not a fan of them. bad experiences with shady organizations do that to a guy.]
And I doubt these people could've put up a fight against a force like that.
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[ But this is all just speculation of course. ]
I hope that they...have found peace somewhere else on this planet.
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[it's a pretty dead on speculation, though. few worlds riku's been too have had anything even close to rivaling ceres. they're pretty impressive in that regard.]
That's a nice hope to have. Someplace away from this jungle and even further away from CERES.
Nanoha
That is true. But there is also Ceres and their...city. Perhaps that is what drove them away to seek shelter elsewhere.
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[ Nanoha looks around at the dreary nothingness of the abandoned village they found themselves in. ]
It was impossible for any of us to leave Cerealia until now though, so what made them run away in such a hurry?
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[ He still feels guilty about that. They all sure made a mess of things. ]
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It couldn't be helped! Nobody could have expected that fire, and after it spread the books were goners anyway!